At least six people were injured in 34 incidents reported nationwide as of 1:30pm, while evacuation has begun in areas near a landslide dam in Hualien County where overflow is expected, the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) said today.
The injuries were reported in Kaohsiung, as well as Taitung, Penghu, Hualien and Pingtung counties, the CEOC said.
Rescue teams were ordered to stand by, as a landslide dam along the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in Hualien County’s Wanrong Township (萬榮) was expected to overflow.
Photo copied by Lu Yun-feng, Taipei Times
The Mataian River Bridge was closed at 9am.
The water level had surpassed the warning height by 1:29pm, with authorities expecting overflow to occur after 1pm.
A total of 1,837 households with 8,524 residents in the alert area were told to evacuate or seek shelter on the second floor or higher.
About 167 people are being housed in three shelters, while 3,118 people are staying with relatives and 5,239 have sought shelter on upper floors, the CEOC said.
About 7,631 people were also evacuated in Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties and Kaohsiung, it said.
A total of 28 shelters were opened in 20 districts and townships, providing shelter for 672 people, it added.
About 8,584 households experienced power outages, with 1,694 still awaiting repairs in Pingtung and Taitung counties, the center said.
Repairs are expected to be completed by 11pm, it added.
Train services on the South Link, Taitung and North Link lines of the Taiwan Railway were suspended until noon.
Four red landslide alerts were issued in Hualien County at 6:30am, along with 102 yellow landslide alerts and four yellow alerts for large-scale collapses.
About 27,857 troops and 3,851 vehicles are on standby for rescue missions, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Additional reporting by Hua Meng-ching
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